Tourism groups wary of complication

August 20, 2022 | 10:00
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The risk of a resurgence of COVID-19 with other, more dangerous variants – as well as the emergence of other diseases – continues to threaten the recovery of the tourism industry.

At some top tourist attractions and other facilities, although signs continue to remind people to comply with safety rules, fewer visitors are complying with all of them.

“Not many people remember to keep their distance or wash their hands, and some people don’t even wear masks now,” said Dung Nguyen, a tour guide at historic Hoa Lo Prison or Maison Centrale in Hanoi.

Fewer tourists are wearing masks even compared to a few months ago, Le Toan
Fewer tourists are wearing masks even compared to a few months ago, Le Toan

Nearly one million people have visited Vietnam so far this year, 10 times more compared to the same period in 2021. The number of domestic tourists also had impressive growth, reaching 71.8 million visitors and an increase of nearly 1.8 times compared to the number of visitors for the whole of last year, according to data from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Despite the rapid recovery, the tourism sector continues to face challenges from the pandemic, especially as the number of cases has started to increase to more than 2,000 cases per day since the beginning of August.

Outside of Vietnam, the appearance of sub-variants is also raising concerns about the risk of another big wave of infections due to the number of cases in countries such as the United States, Europe, and Australia. Nations closer to home, such as Thailand and China, are also facing surging numbers.

While Thailand is calling on people to continue to wear masks in crowded places and requesting tightening of disease prevention measures at high-risk locations such as entertainment venues, in Vietnam, people seem to be more subjective with the issue.

“Most people have completed two or three vaccinations, so I am not as worried as before. When walking on the street, I no longer wear a mask because I want to enjoy a more comfortable and pleasant atmosphere,” said Ngoc Khanh, a tourist from Danang during a walking tour at Hoan Kiem Lake last weekend.

Representatives of some businesses confirmed that it is hard to get tourists to comply with pandemic prevention measures and many tourist attractions are not doing a good job of reminding them, but there is a possibility that the tourism industry will be completely paralysed again if the worst were to happen.

“People and businesses have accepted to live with the pandemic. It is possible that tourism will be affected, but suspending all activities as before is unlikely because companies have experience in handling cases of infected guests,” said Nguyen Ngoc Tan, general director of Saco Travel.

Other nations are having to contend with a new disease outbreak. Around 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in at least 75 countries, and some, such as the United Kingdom, are fast running out of vaccines to treat it.

Currently, Vietnam has not recorded any number of cases of this disease, so domestic tourism is not yet affected. However, companies like Saco Travel are cooperating with foreign partners to update information for customers. The company also has a policy of refund, cancellation, or rescheduling tours in case of force majeure.

“All departure tours have information about hospitals and health authorities at the destination, as well as hotlines to handle the situation when necessary. We will be monitoring all guests with suspected symptoms,” said Tan.

Tran Thi Minh Thao, deputy general director of Hong Ngoc Ha Travel, said that this business is still following official information from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health (MoH). The company has also actively worked with supply partners to ensure maximum safety for visitors.

“We always closely follow these situations to provide the most accurate and complete information to our customers, thereby advising tourists on suitable itineraries,” said Thao.

At the end of July, the WHO and the US both declared a global health emergency for monkeypox. The MoH in Vietnam has urgently developed a response scenario in case of an outbreak. There are outbreaks in nearby countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Cambodia.

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